How to Set Up Plex Media Server Using Docker on Your Home Server

Are you looking to set up your own Plex Media Server to stream your favorite movies, TV shows, and music seamlessly across all your devices? In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to set up Plex using Docker on your home server. This setup is perfect for anyone in Nepal (or anywhere else!) who wants to organize and stream their media library efficiently.

Why Use Plex?

Plex is a powerful media server application that allows you to organize and stream your personal media collection (movies, TV shows, music, and more) to any device. With Plex, you can:

Access your media from anywhere, whether you’re at home or on the go.
Automatically fetch metadata, posters, and subtitles for your media.
Stream content to your smart TV, phone, tablet, or computer.
Share your library with friends and family.

Why Docker?

Docker is a containerization platform that simplifies the deployment of applications. By running Plex in a Docker container, you get:

Isolation: Plex runs in its own environment, avoiding conflicts with other applications.
Portability: Easily move or replicate your setup to another system.
Ease of Management: Update or roll back Plex with minimal effort.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the following:

A Linux-based server (I’m using a Synology NAS, but any Linux machine will work).
Docker and Docker Compose installed.
Your media files organized in directories (e.g., /hdd/Movies, /hdd/Musics, /hdd/TV).
A Plex account and a Plex Claim Code (get it from plex.tv/claim).

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create a Docker Compose File

Create a file named docker-compose.yml and paste the following configuration:

services:
  plex:
    image: ghcr.io/linuxserver/plex:latest
    container_name: Plex
    hostname: plex
    network_mode: host
    mem_limit: 16g  # Allocate up to 16GB of RAM
    cpu_shares: 1024
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    healthcheck:
      test: wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:32400/web
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/plex:/config:rw  # Plex configuration directory
      - /hdd/Movies:/movies:ro           # Movies directory
      - /hdd/Musics:/music:ro            # Music directory
      - /hdd/TV:/tv:ro                   # TV Shows directory
      - /var/lib/transmission-daemon/downloads:/others:ro  # Other media directory
    environment:
      TZ: Asia/Kathmandu                 # Set timezone to Nepal
      PUID: 1026                         # User ID on your host system
      PGID: 100                          # Group ID on your host system
      VERSION: public                    # Use the public version of Plex
      PLEX_CLAIM: your_plex_claim_code   # Replace with your Plex claim code
    restart: on-failure:5

2. Replace Placeholder Values

Replace your_plex_claim_code with your actual Plex claim code from plex.tv/claim.
Update the volume paths to match your media directories (e.g., /hdd/Movies, /hdd/Musics, /hdd/TV).

3. Start the Plex Container

Run the following command in the directory where your docker-compose.yml file is located:

bash

Copy

docker-compose up -d

This will download the Plex image and start the container in detached mode.

Accessing Plex

Once the container is running, open your web browser and navigate to:

Copy

http://localhost:32400/web

You’ll be guided through the Plex setup wizard, where you can:

Sign in to your Plex account.
Name your server.
Add your media libraries (Movies, TV Shows, Music, etc.).

Optimizing Your Plex Server

Here are some tips to get the most out of your Plex server:

1. Enable Hardware Transcoding

If your server has a compatible GPU (e.g., Intel Quick Sync or NVIDIA), enable hardware transcoding for better performance. Add the following to your docker-compose.yml:

yaml

Copy

devices:
  - /dev/dri:/dev/dri  # For Intel Quick Sync
environment:
  - NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=all  # For NVIDIA GPUs
  - NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES=compute,video,utility

2. Add a Transcoding Directory

To improve transcoding performance, add a dedicated directory for temporary transcoding files:

yaml

Copy

volumes:
  - /tmp/plex-transcode:/transcode
environment:
  - TRANSCODE_DIR=/transcode

3. Monitor Resource Usage

Use tools like htop or docker stats to monitor CPU, memory, and disk usage. Adjust mem_limit and cpu_shares as needed.

Conclusion

Setting up Plex using Docker is a straightforward and efficient way to manage your media library. With this guide, you can now stream your movies, TV shows, and music to any device, all while keeping your server organized and secure.

If you have any questions or run into issues, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to me via my contact page. Happy streaming!

About the Author:
Sujit Dhungana is a tech enthusiast and blogger based in Nepal. He loves exploring new technologies and sharing his knowledge with the community.